


Touching Spirit Bear (Cole/Peter)

by alexithymia_69



Category: Touching Spirit Bear - Ben Mikaelson
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:48:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29944725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexithymia_69/pseuds/alexithymia_69
Relationships: Peter Driscal/Cole Matthews





	Touching Spirit Bear (Cole/Peter)

As Cole Mattews gazed across the water, staring at the island that was growing farther and farther as the boat moved, he felt a sudden flood of sadness. Sure, he was glad he was finally leaving and returning to Minneapolis, but the small island held precious memories, and he felt that by leaving it he was, in a way, seperated from those memories.   
The first time he’d been on this boat, he’d been heading towards the island, bitter and angry, unknowing of how much of an impact it’d have on his life. This time was, in every way, different.   
This time, he was leaving with a sense of hollowness, as though someone close to him had just died. Leaving the island was like leaving a friend. Though, he supposed, he was also bringing a friend back to Minneapolis.   
He and Peter Driscal had grown considerably closer during their time alone together on the island. They’d both healed together, and, in doing so, they had a sort of bond, one that made the both of them nearly forget what had happened in the past, or, at the very least, they had gotten over it.   
Peter was sitting next to Cole on the boat, his back turned to Cole as he looked out to where they were headed.   
Cole smiled faintly at this, and he, too, turned to the front. Leaving the island was for the best, he tried to tell himself. 

A few days after he arrived back at Minneapolis, Cole had to go back to school for the first time since Circle Justice.   
He was walking to school, Peter with him, both were silent.   
Cole felt panicky; he struggled to breathe, his heart raced, and he could barely move. How could he go back to school now, after what he did? Would anyone even know that he changed, or would he just be the kid who pounded Peter Driscall’s skull into the sidewalk.   
“C-Cole?” Peter said, bringing Cole back down to Earth.   
“I can’t-” Cole said frantically, his words jumbled. “I can’t go back, I-” Peter put a hand on Cole’s shoulder.   
“I-It’s okay,” he said soothingly. “You’ll be okay. W-we’ll be okay.” Although, Cole noticed, he too sounded slightly panicked.   
“No. They won’t know that I’ve changed, they’ll just think I’m the kid who pounded your skull into the concrete, and almost went to jail. They won’t know who I am now.”  
“Show them,” Peter responded. “Th-they don’t know who you are now, so you have to show them. Like you showed me.”  
Cole looked up at Peter, who was grinning at him. He breathed shakily, then nodded. “Okay.”

Cole felt considerably calmer after that, though he still wasn’t necessarily glad to be back at school.   
“We’ll be okay,” Peter said again. He took Peter’s hand in his own, smiling. 

The school day was just as bad as Cole had anticipated it would be, if not worse.   
Peter got bullied ruthlessly for his limp and stutter, and Cole had to fight the urge to hurt the people bullying him. But then, of course, he reminded himself it was his fault Peter was getting bullied in the first place. If he hadn’t have picked a fight, perhaps none of this would’ve happened in the first place.   
But, would he have changed if he hadn’t done it? Would he still be who he was now?   
He didn’t even want to think about the what-ifs of it.   
“I’m sorry,” he felt the need to say as he and Peter were walking back home.   
“W-what?” Peter asked, puzzled.  
“If I hadn’t hurt you, you wouldn’t have had to go through all of this.”  
Peter laughed. “It’s my fault. If I hadn’t told on you, you wouldn’t have needed to hurt me.”  
Cole bit his lip, uncertain. “I wish we could roll the ancestor rocks and soak in the pond, and see the Spirit Bear, like before. But we can’t here.”  
Peter paused. “I think I might have an idea.” 

A while later, their hands were in each other’s again, and Peter was taking Cole somewhere.   
“Where are we going?” Cole asked again.   
Peter stayed silent, ignoring the query as he had done the whole journey.   
It wasn’t too long before Cole realized the answer to his own question, though.   
They’d arrived at a small, shallow pond. Cole grinned, suddenly euphoric. “How’d you find this place?”  
“D-doesn’t matter,” Peter responded. “All that m-matters is that we’re here.”  
Cole, in the heat of the moment, took Peter in an embrace, though pulled away after only a moment. “Sorry.”  
With the ghost of a smile, Peter said, “It’s fine.” He climbed over to the edge of the pond and took off his clothes.   
Cole found himself gazing at Peter, transfixed, before Peter spoke, “C’mon, g-get in.”  
“Right,” Cole said, blushing. He stripped, and climbed into the pond with Peter.   
He found himself relaxing, more than he’d ever been since leaving the island. He breathed deeply, trying to let go of his worries.   
When he opened his eyes, he found Peter staring at him intently.   
“What?”   
“N-nothing,” Peter glanced away quickly, biting his nails.   
Cole tried to focus on calming down after that, but a sudden thought kept him from doing so. After a few minutes, he asked, “Peter, have you really forgiven me?”   
“Cole,” Peter sighed. “O-of course I have. Why would you ask?”  
“Listen,” Cole explained. “What I did was serious. I, quite possibly, ruined your life. I gave you a limp and stutter, trauma, and you tried to commit suicide because of me. I wouldn’t ever forgive myself for something like that, why would you?”  
“It was hard,” Peter confessed. “I resented you for some time, I hated you for what you did to me. I don’t anymore. I’ll never recover from what you did. I’m never going to forget, because that's not possible. But I forgive you now.   
After seeing that you’ve changed, that you’ve really changed, after getting to know this side of you, the new you, I can honestly say that I’ve forgiven you. I know that you went through a lot, just like I went through a lot. And I think it’d be best for us to be..” Peter paused. “Friends.”  
“Friends,” Cole repeated. It didn’t fit, he thought. But neither did enemies, or acquaintances, he felt something else towards Peter. He didn’t voice this, though. Clearly, Peter only thought of him as a friend. “Yeah, friends.” He forced a smile.   
They sat in silence, the word hung between them, both of them feeling as though it didn’t fit. Neither of them wanted to say it.   
“Cole,” Peter said, breaking the silence. “I don’t want to be friends.”  
“What?” Cole asked, alarmed.  
“N-no, not like that,” Peter said, rushed.   
“Then,” Cole whispered. “What do you mean?”  
“I-I don’t want to be friends,” Peter repeated. “I want to be more.”  
Cole moved closer to Peter, breathing slowly.   
Peter closed the short distance between them, reaching a hand out and cupping Cole’s face. Their lips touched only a second later.


End file.
